A Kid At Heart
by HazelDragonNora
Summary: "You have to die." Trapped by a mysterious time mage's spell to stay a kid forever, the girl who could change the future found a friend in an ice mage and a lifelong partner in a dragon slayer. Magic AU, Nalu
1. Chapter 1

_A Kid At Heart_ : Part One, Chapter One

* * *

 _We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot._

 **Eleanor Roosevelt**

* * *

It was strange.

Everything was silent and calm as soft, fluffy clouds fell from the sky. The sky itself was a blanket of whiteness, a mirror of the land below it.

Only a small dot of gold blemished the white world.

The little girl, barely older than seven and dressed in a torn, tattered, long shirt, trembled as the merciless wind chomped at her exposed skin. "Momma, I'm cold... Momma..."

She was a half-frozen zombie, frostbites dotting her bare skin, stumbling through the deserted streets.

Finally collapsing in the knee-high snow, she sank in the snowdrift and succumbed to exhaustion. From the heavens, pairs of eyes watched her sink down with arrogant smirks on their faces.

* * *

"Ur, there's a kid over there!" Lyon shouted over the roaring wind. Gray, the other ice mage in training, was a dark blur in the lump of snow, struggling to uncover something or someone.

Ur ran to her two students and caught a glimpse of golden hair before a person was uncovered.

The little girl's lips were gray and cold, but the continuous little puffs of warm breaths that froze in the frigid air showed that she was still alive.

With a gasp, Ur saw the thin threadbare clothes she wore and reached to pull her out of the drift.

She stopped as electricity spiked through her mind and continued poking and priding at her thoughts relentlessly until she moved away.

"Are you okay, Ur?" Lyon asked with concern. Ur shouted a warning as Gray advanced forward and touched the girl.

"Gray, NO!" A second passed and when nothing happened, both boys relaxed. Ur was wary when a moment later, the malicious presence returned at full force.

With no warning, the snow exploded.

* * *

It was warm when she woke up. She was lying in a small cot with a fluffy pillow beneath her head and a warm wool blanket draped over her body.

A crackling fire raged in the medium sized stone hearth in the little room, and opposite the cot, a small door that probably led to other rooms was shut. Every now and then, the fire would splutter and flicker as a gust of frigid wind made its way past the splintery wooden walls.

Despite the obviously homey and comfortable atmosphere, the shack seemed silent. She sat up slowly in the cot and reached behind to get the pillow. As she propped the pillow against the head of the cot and leaned back, the door slammed open, and she looked up, her eyes wide and her heart racing.

The boy in the doorway had messy dark hair and he glanced at her, and then he yelled into the previous room, "Ur! The girl's awake!"

A woman with short black hair appeared in the doorway next to the boy. She clomped him over the head.

"Gray! Don't I always tell you to have manners?"

"Yes Ur..." He grumbled and then muttered, "crazy old hag."

"What was that?" The woman called Ur shot Gray a deathly glare. "Are you asking for another three hours of survival training?"

"No ma'am!" He yelped. The two seemed to forget that she was sitting there as they bickered. A sudden cough racked her body and she curled up, hugging her knees to her chest, her throat seemingly caving in on itself.

Ur's footsteps were lost beneath her coughs as the older woman walked over and began to rub circles on the younger girl's back. Gray quietly made his escape out of the room as Ur was occupied.

Humming softly, Ur mumbled, "Shhh. It's okay. Take deep breaths. You'll stop coughing soon." The blonde's hacking coughs soon evened out and she was breathing normally.

Wordlessly, the dark haired boy reappeared in the doorway. He looked to Ur for approval, and seeing her nod, he entered and walked to the cot. The cup of water swayed precariously in his hands as he took tiny, tentative steps to prevent even a single drop of the precious liquid from spilling.

He handed her the cup of water and retreated back a few steps, watching her hold the cup with trembling hands. The mattress dipped under Ur's weight as she sat on the cot with light feet, prepared to catch the cup if the young girl dropped it.

The girl raised the cup to her lips and slowly, slowly sipped the water. Both of her small hands held the large cup up as she drank the water. With a sigh of contentment, she downed the rest of the liquid and set the cup in her lap.

"Thank you." She said and a small smile formed on her face. The dark haired boy only shrugged and turned around, heading out the door. Not another word was said between them, and only Ur saw the tiny, proud smirk on Gray's face as he left the room.

* * *

"But you said today!" The blonde jumped up and down, stomping her little feet on the wooden floor.

Lyon rubbed his forehead and said, "You're still really young, and Gray and I have already started our training. We're used to the cold." Pouting, the girl frowned and crossed her arms over her chest defiantly. "It's already been a month. I can stand the cold, too!"

A month had passed since the day when Lucy was found by the ice mage and her two apprentices. The mysterious magic force that had followed the little girl around and caused the explosion had disappeared, and Ur had adopted her.

They got to know each other better, but Lucy's past still remained unknown. The girl herself had no recollection of how she'd arrived in the snowy, deserted town a few miles from the town where Ur, Gray, and Lyon lived.

It was pure luck that Ur had planned a training expedition to that town for her two students that day and that they had found her. To this day, Ur still shivered to think what would've happened to the little blonde if they hadn't found her.

Together, the four of them made a happy – if not queer – family.

Lyon and Gray constantly fought, but they bonded over the little sister they had in common.

Lucy herself was always cared for by her two older brothers, and if they did anything out of line, she was sure to report them to Ur, the mother figure of all three of them.

It was only sometimes – mostly when the little girl was asleep – when images of places and people and events came to her in the form of dreams. Most of the time, the images weren't repetitive, but there was one image that always came to her every night: the soft humming of an unknown individual and the gentle lap of waves against her feet.

"No you can't. I'm sorry, Lucy, but you're just not ready yet."

"B-but-!" Tears glimmered in her eyes as she clutched Lyon's shirt. The silver haired boy blushed and gulped nervously, his eyes darting from her wide, puppy dog eyes, to the room around them. Sighing in defeat, he raised his arms in an 'I-Surrender' signal.

"Ha! Lyon lost a fight to Lucy!" Gray snickered and slapped the doorway as he entered the room. A challenging glimmer shone in Lyon's eyes as he straightened up and dropped his arms to his sides, glaring at Gray.

"You think you could win against those eyes?" He challenged his raven haired peer.

"Of course!" Gray scoffed and leaned against the doorway casually. Grinning, Lyon beckoned to Lucy who ran over, still skipping joyfully.

"Gray wants to fight you." He told the little girl, whose eyes immediately widened.

She turned towards Gray who shifted and met her, and her lower lip immediately began to tremble. Caught off guard, Gray flinched as her eyes grew even wider and began to shine with withheld tears.

"Alright, alright! I give! Just stop looking at me like that!" Gray finally exclaimed, unable to handle the face she was giving him any longer.

Lyon began to laugh, and Lucy giggled, her sad face disappearing immediately.

A chuckle joined with their laughter and Ur appeared in the door. Her eyes glimmered mischievously as she regarded them from the door well.

"Well then," She announced, "I see that we're all off to a good start today. Let's get training!" A scowling Gray, a snickering Lyon, and a giggling Lucy followed her outside.

* * *

"Lucy?" Ur and Lucy were laying outside on the blanket while Gray and Lyon were inside making dinner. The stars shone like diamonds in the dark, obsidian sky.

"Yes, Ur?" Lucy replied.

The older woman spoke. "I have a favor to ask of you."

"Hm?"

"Never, ever let Gray or Lyon use Iced Shell." Ur said solemnly.

"Why? What is Iced Shell?" Lucy asked.

Ur turned on her side and stared into Lucy's eyes. "It's a spell that when used… will kill the caster."

"…oh…" The girl's voice was small as she took in this information.

Still staring at Lucy, Ur asked, "Do you promise?"

"I promise." Lucy confirmed without hesitation, "I promise on my honor as a celestial spirit mage."

Ur stared for a second longer before smiling and pulling Lucy close to her. "Atta girl."

* * *

"Rise and shine!" Ur threw the blankets off of the three kids huddled under it.

"Mmedhhhmoorrppp…" Gray grumbled and pulled Lucy in closer to him. Lyon had an arm around the two of them and he shifted to save their warmth.

"Come on!" Ur barked and when they still did not wake, she dropped ice cubes on Gray and Lyon's heads.

"Oww!" They both sat up at the same time, leaving a disgruntled Lucy on the mattress herself.

"Urr…" She mumbled and also sat up, rubbing her eyes and letting out a cute yawn.

"Aw, you'll be fine, Lucy." Ur ruffled the little girl's hair playfully. "We're going into town today – you probably don't want to miss it!"

* * *

"Alright," Ur counted the heads, "Good! We're all still here. Where do you three want to go now? We already bought groceries and got a discount for it." She winked at Lucy who giggled and held onto the basket of bread, fish, tangerines, and assorted vegetables.

"Can we get some food to eat, Ur?" Gray moaned pitifully.

"I'm starving…" Lyon's stomach growled next to Gray. Ur rolled her eyes and looked to Lucy.

"What do you think, Ms. Lucy? Should we let them eat?" The blonde giggled and held onto Ur's hand.

"Yes!"

* * *

"Ur, my friend! How are you today?" An old man with a youthful spring in his step strode over to the bar and patted Ur on the back. The woman turned around in her stool and smiled and exchanged words with him.

"I'm great! How have you been, John? Gray and Lyon were starving so I brought them here to eat. You serve the best food in town, after all!" She winked at him and he chuckled.

"Oh, you sure do know how to flatter an oldie like me, Ur. Now who's this young'un?" He squatted down to peer at Lucy who stood between Ur's stool and Gray's stool.

Ur patted Lucy's head fondly. "This is Lucy. She's a new pupil of mine."

"It's nice to meet you, Lucy. You've got a great teacher. She's the strongest mage in the world." John stuck out his hand and Lucy cautiously took it.

"You shush," Ur rolled her eyes at John. "There are a lot of much stronger wizards than me in the west." John disregarded her comment and smiled at Lucy.

"I-It's nice to meet you, too, sir." She said meekly, giving him a small smile.

"And just for that smile, everything's on the house!" John exclaimed and winked at her. Lucy's brilliant smile warmed his heart as he strode into the kitchen, giving Ur a kind smile on the way.

* * *

"Man! That was amazing!" Lyon said and stretched his arms.

"Yeah!" Lucy agreed.

Ur glanced at Gray who seemed to be focused on a group of people talking on the side of the road. "What do you think, Gray? Was the food good?"

"Huh?" Gray turned and smiled at Ur. "Yeah… the food was great." She couldn't help but notice that it lacked the luster it previously had.

* * *

Lucy turned in her sleep, feeling Lyon on the right of her and an empty space on the right. She sat up and crept out of bed quietly, careful not to disturb Lyon.

"Gray?" The boy froze, his body illuminated by the moonlight in the room from the skylight. Seeing only the small girl, he relaxed and removed his hand from the door handle.

"Lucy," A rustle as his bag slipped from his shoulder. "What are you doing still awake?"  
She didn't answer; only stared at the bag now sitting on the ground. Then slowly, she looked up and met his eyes. He flinched at the realization in her eyes. "Were you… leaving?"

He sighed. "Yes." There was no point in lying to her.  
"Why?" She asked, the confusion plain in her voice.

"It's complicated," he said. "A demon killed my parents and… and I need to kill it. Today in town, I heard some people say that the demon, Deliora, appeared in Brago, a town not too far from here."

"So you're just going to walk there and kill it?" Lucy asked with disbelief.

Gray jutted his chin out. "Yes."

"Then I'm coming with you." Having no experience of the real world, neither of them could fathom the true might of a demon, and their foolishness would lead to the sacrifices that would change the entire essence of who they were. **Forever.**

* * *

"Lucy, run!" Gray shouted as Deliora rampaged through the town.

Smoke flooded the girl's senses and she crashed blindly through the debris of smashed wood, crushed stone, and obliterated shards of metal. The door to the house she and Gray hid in was half hanging on the jam, rusted hinges screaming in agony, as it swung open.

Yanking with a sudden harshness on her arm, Gray pulled her out of the house. "Idiot! Don't just stand there gaping!"

Coughing and too frightened to speak, she nodded dumbly. His eyes widened in fear as he suddenly looked up past her.

"Let's go!" He yelled and he pulled her along. The house they were just hiding in was crushed by a flying chunk of cobblestone the size of a train cart.

"Gray," Lucy clutched at the older boy's shirt as tears suddenly rolled down her cheeks, the entire situation becoming too much for her to comprehend. "Gray, I want Lyon! Or Ur! I want them!" She sobbed. But Gray only had eyes for the demon stomping through the town.

"Shh, wait here." His eyes were trained on Deliora and he left Lucy sitting in the middle of the road.  
He ran towards the demon, murderous intent in his eyes as he stopped in his casting position.

"Ice Make: Lance!"

The shards of sharpened ice flew towards Deliora, but shattered upon impact. The thick hide of the demon wasn't even pierced. Instead, Deliora turned and his scaly yellow eyes focused on Gray.

"Alright, that didn't work! Then eat this!" Gray shouted. He stood straight and suddenly crossed his arms in an X towards the ground.

A blue aura surrounded him and a crystal blue magic circle formed beneath his feet. However, he didn't release his magic. Instead, the magic pressure built and built until even Lucy could feel it.

The girl gasped. She was pretty sure that this was what Ur had told her about.

"Iced," Gray yelled, "Sh-"

"NO, GRAY!" Lucy disappeared and reappeared next to him in a flash and shoved him off his feet. The magic dispersed immediately and Deliora's fist began its downward arc.

"LUCY!" Gray screamed. At the last possible moment, he leaped forward and dragged her backwards. The ground shook as Deliora's fist connected with the ground, and Lucy screamed in agony.

Gray trembled at the sight. The bottom half of Lucy's left leg – from just below her knee to her foot – was shattered. The seven year old bit her lip from the pure pain that shook her body and her lip began to bleed from the force.

"L-Lucy, I'm so sorr-"

"GRAY! LUCY! GET OUT OF THERE!" It was a miracle: it was Ur. Lyon was next to Gray and Lucy in a flash. He and Gray supported Lucy, each boy held one of her arms and her left foot hung limply in the air. Ur sprinted forward to engage the demon and distract it.

Gray and Lyon carried Lucy over to a hill in the town far away enough from Deliora.

"Here, I'll make you a new foot." Gray suggested. "Ice Make: Ice Peg Leg."  
Shutting his eyes, he numbed Lucy's shattered leg and encased it in a leg of ice.

The girl didn't talk or breath that much. She laid on the ground with her eyes closed while Gray and Lyon stood guard around her.

"Look, Gray," Lyon spoke in amazement. "That's our teacher there. That's Ur." He nodded to where a tiny figure flitted around the enormous demon. Ice sprouted randomly from Deliora, and unlike Gray's attack, Ur's attacks actually caused damage to the demon.

"She's tiring, though." Gray said. They watched as Ur ran around Deliora, but much slower than before. Suddenly, she took a stance similar to Gray's.

"N-no!" Lucy sat up, gasping. She stood up, wobbling on her feet, and tried to walk down the hill. "No! UR!"

"Lucy! You need to lay down and rest! Lucy!" Gray yelled.

Lyon slowly turned towards Gray, an unfamiliar expression crossing the silver haired male's face. "This…"

"URR!" Lucy screamed.

From below the hill, Ur looked up at the three kids, a peaceful smile on her face as she crossed her arms in an X position.

"With this," She yelled, ensuring that the kids could hear her. "I shall seal away your darkness, Gray!"

"NOOO! UR!" Gray screamed, his voice becoming hoarse. He stood, frozen, on the hill.

"Ur-" Lyon whispered.

"ICED SHELL!" A powerful beam of blue light shot up from Ur's magic circle and surrounded her. The woman kept her arms crossed despite the strain it had on her and soon, cracks appeared on her body. The blue light began to seep into Deliora, causing the demon to writh in pain, but it was unable to move.

"Gray…" Ur turned her head back to look at the three kids one last time, her eyes focused solely on the shocked, raven haired male. "Embrace the light. Find your happiness…" With that, her face shattered, her body following soon afterwards.

Deliora roared as ice crawled up its body. Its efforts were futile, for the ice of Ur was the strongest of all, and the demon was finally subdued.

* * *

"THIS WAS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Lyon screamed and turned on Gray. "BECAUSE OF YOU, UR IS-" A chunk of stone collapsed over the silver haired ice mage and Gray gaped at the sight.

"Lyon?" He called, hoping to hear a response. "Lyon?" Upon hearing nothing, Gray's shoulders slumped and he turned around, trudging towards Lucy.

"Ur," She sobbed, her back bent and her arm raised forward in a futile attempt to keep the older woman with her. "G-Gray, it wasn't y-your fault-" Coughing, she bent over and blood dripped from her mouth.

"Oi! Lucy!" Gray held her shoulder in alarm. "Stop speaking! Don't die on me, too!"

"Gray…" She coughed one last time and crimson blood splattered on the ground. Gray held her tightly as she went limp and fell unconscious. He felt for her pulse, praying that she was still alive.

After a few seconds, the faint _thump, thump, thump_ proved that she was still alive – for now.

"Don't you worry, Lucy…" Gray grunted, "I'll take care of you. Just hold on for a little longer."

* * *

"Where should we go now?"

Gray, with Lucy on his back, looked off into the distance – the flat, barren land of snow and ice – stretching for as far as the eye could see.

 **"Don't you worry, Ur,"**

" _There are a lot of much stronger wizards than me in the west."_

" **I'll make you proud."**

* * *

 **A/N:**

It's a new story! I had this idea for too long, and I just couldn't help it.

I'm still in school and our finals and end of the year projects are coming up, so I'll be busy doing those. They are my first priority, but I wanted to publish something so that you guys know that I'm not dead or anything. ;)

 _Princess Converted Pirate_ is **not** on hiatus. I shall be updating it **within a week**. Luckily, I've been introduced to a pretty good app that helps remove writer's block (thanks **Skystormrunner** ), so _Princess Converted Pirate_ should be up and running in no time!

Thanks for everyone's understanding and support! Your reviews really brighten my day and I'm so, extremely happy to see that people accept my ideas!

'Til the next time we meet!

~Nora


	2. Chapter 2

_A Kid At Heart: Part One, Chapter Two_

* * *

 _No one is in control of your **happiness** but you. Therefore, **you** have the **power**... to change **anything** about yourself or your life that you want to change._

 **Barbara De Angelis**

* * *

Thick, dark trunks rose high up in the air, long branches shielding the snowy ground from too much sunlight. Cautious animals with coats in white and fur the color light gray peered at the strangers warily.

Two sets of intermixing wintery white footprints imprinted in the snow, blood trickling after them.

With a huff of warm air, the boy stopped and looked around.

One arm wrapped firmly around the girl by his side, he said with annoyance, "Damn." His stomach rumbled loudly. "It's been four days since we finished the rations and I'm staaaaarrving."

The animals bounded away at his loud voice.

"Do you even know where we are? Well, the injured girl without a leg isn't complaining." Blonde hair flying, said girl brushed off the boy's arm.

"You-"

"I'm fine." She wobbled unsteadily, arms outstretched, and the boy scowled, both arms tense and ready to catch her if she fell.

Standing proudly, if not a bit awkwardly, she said, "See?"

Mumbling underneath his breath something about weird girls, he trudged along - her trailing after him - deeper into the snowy forest.

* * *

High above the dense cluster of trees, a cliff hung above it. Usually a calm, peaceful, and silent cliff, today snickers and malicious voices came from on it.

"Little girl, it's best if you come along peacefully," the male licked his lips and grabbed the knives at his side, spinning them out of their sheaths with ease.

"After all, the boss wants you back relatively unharmed." Jeers directed at the frightened child arose from the male's two accomplices.

"Come on, let's go back together." The second crossed his arms, smirking.

"If you don't, I'm going to have to punish you~" The girl flinched. They stepped even closer and she stumbled back, heart pounding, breaths coming in pants.

With a resounding **CRACK** , the tip of the cliff she stood on broke away with her as the silently screaming passenger.

The men peered over the cliff in shock, all three too stunned to speak.

"Oh crap." Finally, the first man snapped out of it.

"After her!"

* * *

"KYYAAAHH!" She screamed as she tumbled down into the forest. With a soft, muffled thump, she landed in a pile of snow.

"Owww..." Sighing with relief, she exclaimed, "It's a good thing the snow was here!" The pile of snow started to shake and she stared at it nervously. "Eh?"

"WHAT'S SO GOOD ABOUT IT?!" Screaming and scaring her half to death, a half naked boy missing his shirt leaped out from the snow like a champion boxer.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry..." She bowed several times, all the while muttering apologies. "But more importantly, why are you half naked?!"

"You get lost, you strip, right?" He shrugged nonchalantly.

The girl sweat-dropped. "Not exactly..."

"Gray, you lost your top again." A blonde girl popped up right next to the raven haired boy.

"WHA - not again!" The boy rummaged through the snow and the blonde joined him in his search for his missing article of clothing. The stranger noticed that the blonde had an ice leg in place of her left leg.

Triumphantly, the blonde dug into the snow and wrung out a fur jacket. "I found it, Gray!" She tossed it to the boy and Gray shrugged it on, buttons buttoning.

"Thanks, Lucy," Gray said and then turned to the stranger. "Anyways, good timing. D'you know the way out of here? We need to get to town."

 _That's right... I gotta run,_ the girl thought.

Sinister cackles erupted from behind Gray and Lucy.

Smirking, the man in suspenders said, "Well, well, well... Wasn't that a close chase?"

"We'll definitely get you this time~" The one in a spotted fur trimmed jacket with hair covering his eyes cooed.

"..." The white trench coat man stayed silent, his dummy-like face making it all the creepier.

Gray turned around, muttering, "Hrm?"

Lucy raised an eyebrow at the three men. "Suspender Man, Emo Dude, and the Puppet Master?" The little girl stranger gulped.

"Hm?" 'Suspender Man' stared at Gray and Lucy. "Who are these two brats?"

Sighing, Gray turned to Lucy, both kids completely ignoring the trio. "Haah... It's too bad. These guys don't look like town-folks."

"Heh. I don't think this boy's normal. He was half naked, to start. The blonde on the other hand..." 'Suspender Man' mused to himself.

"Oh well. They've already seen us, so we have to deal with them. Take the boy with us and leave the useless girl; she's missing a leg, after all." He commanded.

"Roger." 'Emo Dude' said.

'The Puppet Master' grabbed the little girl stranger and trudged off. "Behave now," was all he said as she pounded her fists against his back.

"Nooo! Let me go!" She wailed.

'Suspender Man' smiled cruelly as he watched them leave. "This time, we're going to lock you up so that you can never escape again."

Gray gritted his teeth, immediately going into his casting stance.

"You guys..." The etherno in the air began to rise. "Ugh, so hungry." He groaned and collapsed, his magic disappearing. 'Suspender Man' picked him up and slung him over his shoulder.

"Gray!" Lucy took a step and wobbled, her ice leg shifting in position. Shoot! Now's not the time to melt, leg! She cried in her mind, limping slowly towards her adopted brother, getting only a few steps before a man intercepted her.

'Emo Dude' towered over her, his dark eyes piercing into her skin.

"Useless garbage." He growled, clenching his hand into a fist, pulling back, and knocking her out immediately.

Turning his back on the unconscious form of the little girl, he walked away, getting about two feet before a sudden explosion rocked the clearing behind him, sending him tumbling head over heels into a tree and knocking him out upon impact.

* * *

In a metal cell surrounded by the snowy forest...

"Where are we?" Gray asked.

"We're in Chrono Noise, a mage guild," the little stranger replied.

"GUILD? This is a guild?!" Gray exclaimed.

The metal cell door clanged open - a short, stocky man sliding a loaf of stale bread and a cup of water on a tray into the room - and shut just as quickly.

Eyeing Gray remorsefully, the girl stranger nudged the wide-eyed, drooling boy and offered, "You can have the food. It's not that good anyways."

Ravenously, Gray tore into the bread and gulped down the water, the girl watching on in mild shock.

"I haven't eaten in four days," he explained through mouthfuls of bread, "so this is a feast for me!"

She nodded in understanding and sat quietly while he ate.

"Are you one of their guild mates?" He asked out of the blue, finally finished with his bread and water.

"No," she said, sighing sadly. "I'm not."

Nodding understandingly, Gray mused, "yeah, I guess so. If you were, they wouldn't have locked you in this prison cell. I mean, what kind of guild would do that?"

The girl nodded, staring down at her boots ashamedly. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess..."

"Don't worry about it," Gray smiled. "Besides, I got to eat. That reminds me... Why are you in here anyways?"

"U-um, oh yeah! What were you doing in a place like that with a girl?!" She retorted, completely avoiding his question.

Shrugging, Gray said, "I... I wanted to get on a train out of town and cross these mountains."

"A train?"

"In other words, a training journey. I wanted to see the world and get stronger, and Lucy tagged along," Gray's eyes held a far away look in them. "After that, I was thinking about maybe joining a guild somewhere. We discussed it a little bit."

"A guild... You're a mage, too!" The girl smiled wistfully. "That sounds really nice... You must have a sense of real freedom."

Gray frowned, seeing the sad look in her eyes.

"Here," He said. He pressed his fist on his left hand and called forth his magic. The temperature around him dropped a few degrees as he removed his fist.

"Wow!" The girl said, amazed. "It's such a beautiful ice flower!"

"Heh," Gray smirked. "My magic is the magic of 'freedom', after all."

"Maybe... If I had had a different magic, I could've been 'happy', too." She said.

Gray turned away, rubbing his head sheepishly, and said, "You can have that, although it's going to melt..."

"Really? Thank you!" She smiled brightly and slipped the flower in her pocket. "I'm Nano. Nano Leaf. And you are?"

"I'm-" Gray began to speak until the creaking of the cell door interrupted him.

A man stood with a ring of keys in the door way.

"It's work time," he commanded. "Out."

Obediently, Nano walked out and the cell door swung shut once more. Gray stared at her retreating back, the sad, hopeless expression on her face remaining etched in his mind.

* * *

A few minutes later, a man strode through the hall of jail cells, whistling cheerfully. His eyes passed over the cells and he continued on only to suddenly stop and back step.

His eyes widened as jail cell 018 came into view again. The door was shattered but more importantly, the prisoner was missing.

* * *

"Nano-chan, it's time for work~" Nez Booms, the guild master of Chrono Noise said. The girl walked closer to the giant black orb in the center of the tall room and knelt down in a prayer like position.

She placed her hands together, as if in prayer, closed her eyes, and chanted softly, "Egg Knock."

A beam of sizzling energy shot from her and hit the orb. Upon impact, large, deadly looking spines erupted from the surface of the orb.

"You little brat! How'd you get out of there?" The sudden shout, turning heads, came from the boundaries of the room from a man with a mohawk. In his arms he held a struggling Gray.

"Gyahh!" The man shouted and released Gray as spikes of ice encased his fingers. He took a shaky breath and said with shock, "ice?! This kid's a mage!"

"Nano!" Gray shouted, looking up and meeting the eyes of the girl who had paused in her ritual.

"GET HIM!" Someone screamed and a mob of angry men descended upon Gray.

Nez Booms watched the fight without interest and turned back briefly to say to Nano, "Continue. We wouldn't want to be late, after all." The girl had no words and turned back to her magic.

"Hey, you fools! Dontcha dare interrupt the little ritual." Nez Booms screeched. "Nano-chan's working right now, m'kay?"

"Ha! Working?" Gray's eyes widened, but Nez paid no attention to the new, higher pitched voice.

"Yes," he continued. "Nano-chan's working on hatching this devil's egg which would usually take over ten years to hatch, but her magic-"

"Freeze." Nez Booms leaped back as a layer of ice coated the floor, freezing the other unlucky men's feet to the ground.

"Took you long enough," Gray grinned and slid over to Nano and the mysterious girl standing behind her.

"Yeah sure," Lucy scoffed, blonde hair flying as she shook her head and tsked. "Bet you couldn't beaten up a man after getting knocked out, walked at least half a mile to this guild in the snow, and then froze the entire freakin' floor if you had a wobbly, half-melting ice leg."

Gray's grin dropped from his face and concern suddenly laced his voice. "It's melting already?! Here, I'll re-freeze it." He bent over and placed his hands on her ice leg. With a glow of blue light, the ice hardened.

Lucy shifted her leg experimentally.

"Hmm, I think it's still-"

"Watch out!" Nano shrieked and pulled Lucy and Gray to the side as a small exploding orb demolished the ground they had just been standing on.

"Never mind," Lucy huffed. "It's fine. But Nano, what's all this about a devil's egg?"

The younger girl bit her lip as tears formed in her eyes. "This is... My magic..." She sniffed, holding back the salty droplets. "My egg knock speeds up the flow of time inside of an egg..."

"So that's why they forced you here!" Gray exclaimed angrily, eyes narrowing.

"It's regrettable, but it's quite an amazing talent." Nez Booms said, striding towards the three kids on his stilts. "We're very glad to have Nano-chan. With her here, my guild is the strongest!"

"Nano, earlier you said that you weren't happy, didn't you?" Gray asked. "Well, if this can bring back your happiness, then I'm going to fight for you."

"Me too!" Lucy declared.

"Fufufu, what cheeky little rungs you are." Nez Booms snickered.

"You know, it's been on my mind, but you're actually a runt, too." Gray stated bluntly.

"T-this is bad..." A frozen man whispered to his comrades. "He said the absolute taboo."

Nez's pupils disappeared and his eyes grew larger. Tick marks appeared on his face.

"Y-you little brat! I'm going to kill you!" He growled.

"I'm not a brat. I am Gray, and I am going to kick your ass." Leaping forward with surprising speed, Gray cut off Nez's stilts with an ice blade.

A moment passed with both males staring at each face to face.

Then Gray head butted Nez.

"Hah!" Gray smirked triumphantly. "You're even shorter than I am!"

"Shut up!" Nez punched Gray in the cheek and the fight resumed. "You're going to pay for the time you took from me with your life!"

The short guild master leaped backwards and grinned evilly. "Full Panorama Bomb!"

"What the-" Gray yelled in pain as explosions detonated in the space around him. "What... Just... Happened...?"

"Heh heh heh... Now you're going to DIE!" Nez cackled and thrust his hand towards Gray.

The boy jumped backwards, encasing Nez in an ice dome, as bombs began to appear around the guild master.

"Hope you like this ice igloo," Gray smirked, panting slightly. "It'll keep you nice and warm."

With that, the bombs detonated inside the igloo, exploding around the trapped guild master. When the ice melted and the smoke cleared, Nez lay on the ground, utterly defeated.

"Yeah Gray!" Lucy and Nano cheered, smiles plastered on both their faces. Gray sunk to one knee, smiling tiredly, the amount of magic he had used taking its toll on him.

Then, with a loud, cracking sound, spikes, larger than before, shot out of the devil's egg.

"Hahaha! You were too late! Finally, it's going to hatch!" Nez cackled, raising his head to watch.

"Not if I can stop it!" Lucy leaped forward, pulling her fist back as a blue glow lit up around her.

Ignoring a "Hey!", she sprang from the back of a frozen man into the air towards the egg.

"Ice CHASM!" She yelled as her fist collided with the egg, shattering it and causing a massive shockwave.

"NOOO!" Nez shouted as it split open, spilling out a black, gooey substance.

"Shoot! It's melting the ground!" The ice melted, freeing the trapped men, and they ran as the acidic substance from the egg chased after them.

Gray stood up, preparing to run, when a shadowy manifestation suddenly appeared from the acid. His mind flashed back to the demon Deliora and he froze.

"Gray-kun!" Nano stood next to him, pulling on his hand.

"WATCH OUT!" Lucy suddenly flashed into existence next to them. She hugged them close to her and with a flash of light, the three of them reappeared outside the guild.

"Whoa, what was that, Lucy?" Gray asked as the blonde collapsed.

"I... I don't know, but it makes me really tired..." She yawned and promptly fell asleep. The boy looked over at Nano who smiled at him.

"Thank you, Gray-kun, and to Lucy-San as well," she wiped her eye with her sleeve as her voice trembled. "You saved me from a bleak future. I have to repay you!"

"Uh... It was nothing." Gray blushed and looked away, rubbing his head sheepishly.

"I know!" Nano perked up and grabbed one of Lucy's arms. "I can show you to the town nearby where I live!"

* * *

Half an hour of trudging through the snow and carrying a sleeping Lucy later, Gray, smiling, watched through the window as Nano burst through the front door of a little house.

She launched into her shocked parent's arms, and all three burst into happy tears.

Gray turned away and pinched Lucy's cheeks, effectively waking her up.

"Com'on," he muttered to a sleepy eyed Lucy, casting a quick glance through the window. "It's time for us to go."

* * *

Silently, the two kids crept through the darkened town towards the train station. They sneaked past the snoring ticket collector and onto the train platform.

"Where are we going?" Lucy asked, swinging her feet as she sat on a bench next to Gray

The raven-haired boy shrugged and turned around to look at the map hanging on the brick wall.

After scanning it, he said, "we'll get off thirteen stops from here, which is the farthest this train will take us. After that, we might have to walk or ride a boat or something... I'm not sure."

"Okay," Lucy smiled and hugged Gray. "Wherever you go, I'll follow."

The boy smiled fondly at the girl and wrapped his arms around her, laying his head on hers. "Thanks."

When the train came a minute later, the two siblings crept onto the last car and after sliding into a booth and sitting down, Lucy snuggled into Gray's side.

Gray wrapped an arm around Lucy and they fell asleep, the soft rocking of the train car lulling them to dreamland.

* * *

"Lucy, wake up!" Gray shook the girl awake gently.

"Hrm?" Lucy mumbled, turning over and burrowing her head into the plushy cushion of the seat.

"It's our stop!" The boy spoke again.

"Oh, okay!" Sitting up immediately, Lucy slid off the seat and followed Gray off the train. Upon stepping onto the platform, sunlight greeted her and she shielded her eyes.

"It's morning already?" She grumbled and Gray rolled his eyes exasperatedly. He slid his hand into hers and they set off into the busy town.

As they entered the heart of the small town, they passed stalls of colorful fabrics, little booths that displayed many toys, and vendors selling all kinds of different foods.

The inviting aroma of baking bread filled the air and their stomachs growled simultaneously.

Lucy tugged on Gray's hand with their intertwined hands.

"Graaaayyy, I'm hungry." She whined.

The older boy sighed and looked enviously at a older woman buying loaves of freshly baked bread.

"I know," he said. "Me, too." They pressed their faces against the window of a bakery, watching as the baker, a man with a bald head and a long, handlebar mustache, carried a tray of complicatedly shaped dough over to the oven.

"Gray, is that man horizontally challenged?" The boy snorted and then covered his mouth as the baker turned and looked at them suspiciously. He waited before the baker returned to putting the tray in the oven before answering Lucy.

"You could say so," he said, laughing as she grinned like a mischievous cat.

They peeled themselves off the window and resumed walking through the streets.

Turning a corner, Lucy stumbled and bumped into a boy, sending him into a puddle.

"Oh! I'm sorry," she apologized, releasing Gray's hand, and offered a hand to help the other boy up. The boy sneered, and ignoring her hand, stood up by himself, water staining his pants.

"Look at what you did to my pants," he snarled, towering over her, and Lucy withdrew her hand fearfully. "Watch where you're going, you dumb blonde." He swaggered away, but Gray latched onto his arm before he could get far.

"Apologize to her right now," he commanded, bangs covering his eyes.

Pulling away like he had been touched by vermin, the other boy straightened up, smirked, and stared at Gray.

"You're probably not from around here," he said, looking with unmasked disgust at their dirty clothes. "So I'm warning you now, it's a bad idea to mess with me."

"I don't care. You apologize to her right now or I'll send you to the deepest pits of the underworld." Gray threatened.

"I warned you." The other boy sighed with contempt and snapped his fingers. Within seconds, a group of other boys surrounded Lucy and Gray.

"Now boys, teach them a lesson, will ya?" The snobby boy commanded, turning his nose up at them.

A particularly lanky boy grinned, cracking his knuckles threateningly, and said with a disgustingly sweet voice, "of course, boss. Get 'em, guys!"

At his command, the circle of boys closed in on the two kids.

"Lucy, get back!" Gray said, shoving her out of the circle as he was backed up against a wall. The boys circled closer to him like a pack of hungry wolves, completely ignoring the girl.

"He's a mage?" The boy she bumped into gasped but when he saw that Gray couldn't summon any magic, he smirked and waved a hand lazily, signaling for his cronies to attack.

"Pathetic, he can't even use his own magic to back up his threats." He laughed.

Punches rained down upon the defenseless raven haired boy, his body curling into a ball as kicks slammed into his back. He would take all this pain if it meant that his sister was safe.

"Gray!" Lucy yelled, panicked. Gray was so hungry that he couldn't summon any magic. When he called up a tiny shard of ice a second ago, it melted upon formation.

"GRAY!" She screamed as a knife appeared from the folds of one of Gray's attacker's shirts.

A sudden influx of magic radiated from her body, and she began to glow, the magic wanting to be released. She dropped to the ground, beginning to convulse as pre-explosion tremors racked her little body.

With a violent explosion, her magic burst outward, catching everything in a ten-foot radius.

The boy and his cronies went flying and fled from the scene as the smoke began to clear.

* * *

At the sound of scattering footsteps and frantic, frightened yelps, Gray looked up, one eye bruised from a particularly vicious punch and ribs hurting from a hard kick and the explosion.

"You okay, kid?" A hand stretched toward him and he peered up at the stranger.

"Lucy!" He yelled, seeing the girl cradled in the stranger's other arm.

The man looked down at the unconscious girl and winced, retracting his hand to ruffle his shoulder length orange hair. He shifted his cloak so that it covered the girl's body.

"What's wrong with her?" Gray asked, pushing himself up as he saw Lucy's unconscious, bleeding face.

"Not sure," the man replied, slinging an arm around Gray for support and starting to walk away, forcing the boy to walk with him, before he could complain. "But I heard an explosion - and I assure you, I'm here to help." He said.

"Oh, and by the way," the man turned, dusty brown cloak swinging, and grinned. "The name's Gildarts."

* * *

 **A/N:**

So the second chapter is up, yay! I'm in a good mood since my school ends in three days (not counting the weekends).

Hope you enjoy this chapter and if you're in the mood, drop a review down below. Be it constructive or just a little message, they really make my day! ^-^

Also, thanks to everyone who faved and followed, and to my first reviewer, **Original1** , thanks for leaving me those kind words! ;)

 _*I hope that this chapter made it clear that yes, Lucy did learn a bit of ice-make magic during her time with Ur. However, she only skimmed the surface of what Gray and Lyon learned. There is another magic she has, but I don't know if any of you have figured it out yet.*_

'Til the next time we meet!

~Nora


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